Prescott launches socialist campaign for Europe

British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott launched the European election campaign today with a rousing call on voters to back “justice, freedom and equality”.

He told a rally of European Socialist Party leaders in Brussels that democratic socialism was a “powerful force” which would work on behalf of 450 million people in the 25 EU countries after enlargement on May 1.

And he delivered a tribute to the value of the European Union in achieving what nation states cannot – international agreements in areas such as environmental legislation.

Global problems needed global solutions, and the EU had been united in talks on greenhouse gases and pollution. Nation states could not have done that “if it hadn’t have been for the EU – and I say that as someone from Great Britain” said Mr Prescott.

The gathering of the Party of European Socialists marks the start of the race for seats in the European Parliament in polling which takes place between June 10 and 13 in 25 countries – the world’s biggest-ever cross-border election.

PES President Robin Cook, who stands down this weekend after a two-year term in office, unveiled an election “pledge card”.

It commits the PES to:

:: sharing prosperity in a social Europe;

:: more and better jobs;

:: managing migration and pursuing social integration;

:: fighting terrorism and its causes.

The credit card-sized pledge cards are in all official EU languages and will be handed out in shopping centres and markets as well as on doorsteps across Europe in the next few weeks.

The socialists hope it will encourage voters to back centre-left candidates and restore them as the majority party in the 732-seat European Parliament.

A forecast earlier this month predicted the biggest political bloc will remain, as now, made up of MEPs from centre-right parties from the member states, including the UK Tories.

At the moment there are 36 Tories and 28 British Labour MEPs in the Strasbourg Parliament.

In the last European poll five years ago, the Tories trounced Labour, mainly because Labour voters stayed at home.

This time, said the forecast, the gap will not be so large, but, contrary to national electoral fortunes, the Conservatives will stay ahead.

Today the European socialists were out to counter any such trend across the member states.

But the biggest enemy at the polls is voter apathy, with a recent survey revealing only 18% in the UK stating they will definitely bother to vote.

Mr Prescott said: “The values we have are of social justice, freedom and equality – the issues which make democratic socialist parties such a powerful force.”

He added: “Justice, freedom, equality and social justice – those are our values. They are what a sustainable world is about and we are in a position to make a substantial change.”

The leader of the current UK Labour MEPs Gary Titley, standing for re-election in the North West, said: “The number one priority has to be the creation of more and better jobs. We need active labour market policies that enable people to find work.

“We have jobs without workers and workers without jobs.

“We must make work pay and provide people with the ability to find work.”